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261. Sustainability in the South African Wine Industry: Status, Opportunities and Challenges

Author:
Reena das Nair, Shingie Chisoro, and Stefano Ponte
Publication Date:
09-2023
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for Business and Development Studies (CBDS), Copenhagen Business School
Abstract:
South Africa has been a pioneer in developing a variety of sustainability programmes and initiatives from farm to bottle, placing it at the forefront of sustainability in the global wine industry. In addition to global sustainability standards, such as Fairtrade and organics, and standards applied by retailers in the Global North, domestic sustainability initiatives and regulations have also been developed since the late 1990s. The existence of sustainability initiatives however does not automatically entail that they are easing the local environmental impacts of viticulture and winemaking, that working conditions are necessarily improving, or that there has been more inclusive participation and ownership by historically disadvantaged persons (HDPs). In this working paper, we unpack whether, how and to what extent different demands and initiatives on sustainability are reshaping the functioning of the wine industry in South Africa and with what benefits for whom. We examine the various sustainability programmes and initiatives in South African wine and assess the implications for costs, investments and profitability of actors in the value chain. Furthermore, to provide a sense of how South Africa fares in the international arena, we also undertake a comparison with sustainability initiatives in the Italian wine industry. We frame sustainability initiatives in broad terms, covering environmental, social and economic sustainability. The growing effects of climate change globally demand that grape growers adapt from an environmental perspective. The pressure for social sustainability emanates from the highly skewed patterns of ownership by HDPs, legacies of racialised inequalities, and a tainted history of poor worker conditions on farms and cellars. We also cover economic sustainability, as it both affects and is affected by environmental and social sustainability initiatives and is critical for the future of commercial production. The research results presented here are part of a larger project funded by the Danish Independent Research Fund Denmark (Project #0133-00046B) on ‘Power and inequality in global production systems’ (PIPS) that also covers industrial fisheries in South Africa and the salmon and wine industries in Chile (with Stefano Ponte as the PI). This paper is focused on presenting the main empirical findings of this part of the project and is targeted at a broad audience. It is built on feedback we received on an earlier version that was discussed with South African industry actors at a webinar on 28 June 2023. More analytical and theoretical publications will follow in selected academic journals.
Topic:
Environment, Labor Issues, Governance, Business, Sustainability, Production, and Wine Industry
Political Geography:
Africa and South Africa

262. Pandemic Responses in the MENA Region: Lessons learned for an inclusive economic recovery

Author:
Salma Jrad, Amine Bouzaine, Nadine Mezher, and Anna Chernova
Publication Date:
05-2023
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated existing inequalities and poor governance practices in the MENA region and had a disproportionate impact on the most vulnerable people. These persistent and structural issues also threaten a post-COVID inclusive recovery process. Austerity steers from institutions like the IMF risk further inequality and social exclusion, as evidenced by diverse and gendered impacts on the most vulnerable, including through low public spending on health and social protection. Economic and fiscal justice through progressive taxation and inclusive, crisis-resilient public spending are two key policy solutions to prevent future crises impoverishing the most vulnerable in the region. As the world recovers from the pandemic, now is the time for national and global policymakers – including international financial institutions – to take stock and seek policy alternatives that take a rights-based, inclusive, holistic and resilience-focused approach to recovery efforts, resourced through progressive taxation.
Topic:
Governance, Inequality, Finance, COVID-19, Inclusion, and Economic Recovery
Political Geography:
Middle East and North Africa

263. Community Governance During COVID-19: Case Studies from Rural Areas of Bangladesh

Author:
Tanvir Shatil, Md. Rohmotul Islam, Huraera Jabeen, and Shahaduz Zaman
Publication Date:
01-2023
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), Brac University
Abstract:
This working paper investigates community-driven initiatives in rural Bangladesh that emerged in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and persisted beyond the crisis. Focusing on the sustainability of these initiatives, the study explores the preconditions for collective actions, the development of community-level governance during the crisis, and the mobilization and longevity of these efforts. Supported by the Institute of Development Studies, the research aims to contribute valuable insights into community governance mechanisms in low-resource areas, offering potential solutions for designing resilient emergency interventions and addressing long-term development challenges.
Topic:
Development, Governance, Rural, COVID-19, and Community Initiatives
Political Geography:
Bangladesh and South Asia

264. A quantitative evaluation of the European Commission’s fiscal governance proposal

Author:
Zsolt Darvas, Lennard Welslau, and Jeromin Zettelmeyer
Publication Date:
09-2023
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Bruegel
Abstract:
In the new European Union fiscal framework proposed by the European Commission in April 2023, medium-term fiscal adjustment requirements would be determined by country-by-country debt sustainability analysis (DSA), the 3 percent deficit ceiling and simple rules requiring minimum deficit and debt adjustments (‘safeguards’). These elements are controversial, with some EU countries (and ourselves) preferring a DSA-based approach, while others prefer to stick to simple rules. This paper evaluates the proposal by replicating the DSA methodology and computing fiscal adjustment implications for all EU countries with debt above 60 percent or deficits above 3 percent of GDP. We find that the proposed framework would require ambitious fiscal adjustment: on average, more than 2 percent of GDP over the medium term, in addition to the adjustment that is already planned for 2023-24. However, for most high-debt countries, these requirements are below those implied by the current framework. We also find that for most countries with debt above 60 percent of GDP, these adjustment requirements are driven by the DSA rather than the safeguards, but with significant exceptions. The main exception is France, for which the ‘debt safeguard’ – which requires debt to fall within four years – imposes much higher fiscal adjustment than the DSA. If the adjustment period were to be extended from four to seven years (as is possible under the framework for countries that submit growth-enhancing reform and investment plans), the safeguards would also be binding for several other countries. In addition, a requirement to reduce the deficit by at least half a percent per year if it exceeds 3 percent of GDP could become binding ex post, in response to output shocks, even if countries implement the fiscal adjustment required ex ante. Finally, we find that while the Commission’s DSA methodology is reasonable, it would benefit from review. This should be done by an independent expert group in consultation with the Commission, member states and other stakeholders, and endorsed by the Council. We recommend the endorsement of the Commission’s proposal after ambiguous aspects are clarified, the debt safeguard and other safeguards are removed or modified, the excessive deficit procedure is reformed to avoid procyclical adjustment, and a process for reviewing the DSA methodology is put in place.
Topic:
Governance, Regulation, Fiscal Policy, and European Commission
Political Geography:
Europe

265. A new governance framework to safeguard the European Green Deal

Author:
Jean Pisani-Ferry, Simone Tagliapietra, and Georg Zachmann
Publication Date:
09-2023
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Bruegel
Abstract:
With the European Green Deal, the European Union adopted ambitious climate targets and a wave of legislation to reach them. But implementation will be politically challenging, in particular because the Green Deal has not upgraded the EU’s energy and climate governance framework. We propose five priorities for governance reform: All emissions should be made subject to emissions trading. By 2030, separate emissions trading systems (ETS) will cover industrial emissions and buildings/transport emissions, representing three-quarters of all territorial emissions. A third ETS should be created for sectors not yet covered and the emission control mechanisms should be unified by 2040. Preparations should start for an EU Green Investment Plan. This should ensure that after pandemic recovery funding ends in 2026, EU green grants remain at least at the current level of €50 billion per year (0.3 percent of GDP). Making up the annual shortfall would require new EU resources amounting to €180 billion between 2024 and 2030, but this will be important to tackle the political and distributional problems the EU will increasingly face. In addition, currently discussed EU economic governance reforms should be amended to allow countries with public debt exceeding 60 percent of GDP but with sustainable public finances to reduce debt at a slower pace, on the condition that additional emissions-reducing investments are made. A European Energy Agency should be established. This would provide unbiased reference points for policy evaluation and preparation. It would not have decision-making powers but would gather and make available data for decision-making, maintain open modelling tools, and independently assess EU and member-state policies. Energy and climate governance should be elevated to heads of state and government level to increase policy coordination and political ownership. Special European summits would be organised at least once a year, with preparations done by EU energy and climate sherpas. Transmission network development and operation should be driven by European cost minimisation. An European independent network system operator would be able to ensure that existing cross-border transmission is used optimally, also with a view to fostering investment.
Topic:
Governance, European Union, Decarbonization, and Green Deal
Political Geography:
Europe

266. Making sense of the European Commission’s fiscal governance reform plan

Author:
Lucio Pench
Publication Date:
09-2023
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Bruegel
Abstract:
The European Commission’s April 2023 proposals for the reform of European Union fiscal governance revolve around the principles of fiscal sustainability and national ownership. While the criterion of sustainability is at the centre of the proposals, its practical implications for the assessment of compliance of national medium-term fiscal-structural plans with the new fiscal rules have been blurred by a proliferation of additional criteria or safeguards. These include a requirement for a country’s debt level at the end of the medium-term horizon to be lower than at the beginning. This Policy Brief argues that the fiscal sustainability criterion, which the legislative proposals formulate in broad qualitative terms (public debt being on “a plausibly downward path ... or … staying at prudent levels”) can be operationalised to ensure the objective of de-risking of public debt, ie the eventual removal of situations in which debt poses a high sustainability risk. Specifically, for a plan to satisfy the sustainability criterion, it should ensure that the country in question graduates out of the high-risk category or does not fall into it. It is further argued that the additional criteria or safeguards have limited value added and hamper the overall readability of the proposed reform. This proliferation of criteria should not be taken as compromising the fundamentals of the reform, however: a careful textual and contextual reading of the relevant legal provisions allows for an ‘overall assessment’ by the Commission and the Council of the medium-term plans submitted by EU countries, in which compliance with the additional safeguards could be given a subordinated role relative to the sustainability criterion. Ideally, a clarification of the methodology for assessing compliance with the debt-sustainability criterion would allow the additional safeguards to be dispensed with. Political concerns lay behind the demand for additional safeguards, but these should be addressed through institutional rather than rule-based solutions. Implementation and enforcement will be critical. This Policy Brief offers proposals to enhance institutional self-commitment to implementation, with reputational consequences for non-implementation.
Topic:
Governance, Reform, Fiscal Policy, and European Commission
Political Geography:
Europe

267. Timor-Leste’s uncertain future

Author:
Parker Novak
Publication Date:
11-2023
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Lowy Institute for International Policy
Abstract:
This paper intends to start a conversation about a broad yet crucial question: what does the future hold for Timor-Leste? And in turn, what does that mean for the Indo-Pacific region? It examines key challenges confronting the country over the next decade, with a focus on how economics, governance, and the transnational issues of climate change, pandemic preparedness, and geopolitics will impact the small island nation. Timor-Leste has accomplished a great deal over the past two decades but faces headwinds that, if left unaddressed, could undo much of what it has achieved. Its future is not preordained, and decisions made by Asia’s youngest nation over the coming years will determine the direction it takes. Australia and Indonesia loom large in this equation, and they will certainly have a vested interest in the course Timor-Leste chooses to take.
Topic:
Governance, Leadership, Economy, Occupation, Multilateralism, and ASEAN
Political Geography:
Australia/Pacific and Timor-Leste

268. Analysis of the Implementation of Auditor General’s Recommendations in Local Governments to Enhance Accountability

Author:
David Andrew Omona, Isaac Katono, Jeremy Waiswa, Maurice Olobo, Alfred Wonyaka, and Simon Peter Mukisa
Publication Date:
01-2023
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
Advocates Coalition for Development and Environment (ACODE)
Abstract:
This research paper presents the findings of the study on the status of implementation of the Auditor General’s (AG’s) recommendations in Local Governments (LGs) in Uganda. In implementing their mandates, local governments are expected to ensure compliance with existing laws and guidelines. As such, the Local Governments, through the National Performance Assessments conducted by the Office of the Prime Minister, are assessed on their level of compliance and accountability. The findings noted that contrary to the other requirements beyond the timely submission of information to the Permanent Secretary/ Secretary to the Treasury, the status of implementation of the Internal Auditor General and the Auditor General’s findings from the previous financial years remains a challenge for most Local Governments. It is on this basis that this study was conceptualised. The main objective of the study was to analyse the level of implementation of the Auditor General’s recommendations in local governments to enhance accountability. Specifically, the study sought to: (a) Establish the status of implementation of the Auditor General’s recommendations in selected districts, (b) Establish the status of Action on Parliament’s resolutions on District Local Governments (DLGs), Auditor General’s recommendations, (c) Examine challenges that affect the implementations of the Auditor General’s recommendations at District Local Governments and Parliament levels and (d) Make proposals to improve on the level of implementation and enforcement of the Auditor General’s recommendations. The study has important implications for promoting transparency, accountability, and good governance in local governments in Uganda.
Topic:
Governance, Transparency, Compliance, Local Government, and Implementation
Political Geography:
Uganda and Africa

269. Governing in Hard Times Conference: Final Reflections

Author:
Javier Sajuria, Eunice Goes, Ben Jackson, Karl Pike, and Carys Roberts
Publication Date:
06-2023
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London
Abstract:
In this concluding session, a panel of academics and policymakers reflected on the day's proceedings. They tried to draw together the most urgent questions facing the centre-left and Keir Starmer's Labour Party as well as the historical parallels for a party seeking to return to government after such a lengthy spell in opposition. Chair: Dr Javier Sajuria (Reader in Comparative Politics at Queen Mary, University of London) Panel: Professor Eunice Goes (Professor of Politics at Richmond University) Professor Ben Jackson (Professor of Modern History at University College Oxford and Co-Editor of Political Quarterly) Dr Karl Pike (Deputy Director of the Mile End Institute) Carys Roberts (Executive Director of the Institute for Public Policy Research)
Topic:
Governance, Domestic Politics, Labour Party, and Center Left
Political Geography:
United Kingdom and Europe

270. Governing in Hard Times Conference: Public Services

Author:
Elizabeth Simon, Jonathan Slater, Clare McNeil, Andrew Harrop, and Adam O'Brien
Publication Date:
06-2023
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London
Abstract:
With increasing dysfunction in public services and education across England (and the United Kingdom as a whole), this panel considered how a new government might solve the staffing and employment crisis in schools, nurseries, hospitals, and care homes. The panel considered the future of Higher Education, the merits and demerits of greater decentralisation across England, as well as how a National Care Service could be established. Chair: Dr Elizabeth Simon (Postdoctoral Researcher in British Politics at the Mile End Institute) Panel: Jonathan Slater (Visiting Professor at the Mile End Institute and Former Permanent Secretary at the Department for Education) Clare McNeil (Associate Fellow at the Institute for Public Policy Researcher) Andrew Harrop (General Secretary of the Fabian Society) Andrew O'Brien (Director of Policy and Impact at Demos)
Topic:
Education, Governance, Employment, and Public Service
Political Geography:
United Kingdom, Europe, and England